Marlee Matlin, other stars says "Dancing with the Stars" advanced their careers

From The NY Post:

Actors are used to playing any role in public . . . except themselves. But when celebs appear on “Dancing With the Stars,” they’re forced to discover their true selves — and learn a mean tango, to boot.

It’s a journey that sounds a bit like an Outward Bound course. Only, instead of trust falls and rock climbing, “DWTS,” which kicks off its ninth season Monday, has judges, lifts and vote counts.

With about 20 million viewers weekly, the show can help relaunch a career.

“Every job I’ve gotten since ‘Dancing With the Stars’ is due to that show,” says Marissa Jaret Winokur, the Tony Award-winning actress from “Hairspray” who appeared on Season 6 in 2008. “If anyone says otherwise, they’re lying.”

Letting herself shine led to Winokur becoming host of “Dance Your Ass Off.”

Football star Emmitt Smith, who won Season 3 in 2006, charmed audiences as they got to know the man beneath the helmet. Post-“DWTS,” he landed sports broadcasting gigs.

After his Season 4 appearance in 2007, *NSYNC’s Joey Fatone took over hosting duties from Joan and Melissa Rivers of TV Guide’s red-carpet preshow for the Academy Awards.

Oscar winner Marlee Matlin (pictured) says her appearance inspired her to write her autobiography, “I’ll Scream Later.” On “DWTS”: “It’s the first time I went into the character of me. It was a little scary, and I went way beyond my boundaries,” she says. “I was really open.”

Part of the journey is by design. None of the stars is a professional ballroom dancer, so it’s a challenge to everyone, and senior talent producer Deena Katz says stars won’t get hired if they’re just in it for the 20 million viewers.

“You have to come on the show with the heart to learn,” she says. “It’s a positive, uplifting experience.”

Last season’s Gilles Marini, who pre-“DWTS” was known as the naked guy in “Sex and the City: The Movie,” loved the challenge.

He may have placed second to Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, but Hollywood came knocking, and this season he has a role on TV’s “Brothers and Sisters.”

“I felt I had accomplished something, because I had no background in dancing,” he says.

Marini turned down 14 projects while he was on the show. Similarly, while on-set in Season 7, Cloris Leachman got a call from director Quentin Tarantino to appear in “Inglourious Basterds.”

Katz has advice for the stars slated to appear. “I tell them, think about what your dream will be,” she says. “Chances are, when the show is over, you can get what you want.”